Summer Vacation

Well, would you look at that, July is almost over.  Where did it go?  Why does time fly by so fast when you're old and decrepit?

We went to Galveston, Texas this year for summer vacation.  We haven't been there since before Hurricane Rita.  My husband wanted to go to Disney (of course) but my son and I have decided to be Disney free for awhile. 

I've always loved Galveston and I've never understand the bad rap it's gotten.  People always say the beaches are dirty, the water is dirty, etc.  And what I want to know is, have they been to California?  Because ICK!!!!  They have dirty beaches, dirty and COLD water and the whole place is dirty.  Even the airport stinks (LAX not Orange County).  And I mean it literally stinks.  You always see pics of celebrities walking through LAX trying to look all glamorous and I just wonder, can't they smell it?  Is their nose clogged?  Because it has a nasty, moldy, old funk that just needs to be torn down and rebuilt.

Anyhoo, back to my story.  Galveston doesn't have the pristine beaches and blue water of South Padre, that's true.  But it's still a great place to vacation.  There are some really good restaurants and they manage to have that small town feel.  While we were there, during July 4th week, they had this great "hometown" parade down the sea wall and then fireworks over the gulf.  It was awesome - and free.  We ate lots of good food, hung out on the beach (until my son got a sunburn and then he didn't want to do anything), played putt putt golf, and wondered around the Strand.  Really, I could have just sat out on our balcony for the entire trip as long as someone was bringing me food and drinks.  We stayed at the San Luis which is my favorite because it's right on the beach and you really can't have a bad room.  We were on the 11th floor though which is great because you're up high enough not to have  your view obstructed but you can still hear the music from the pool.

Here are some pics:

 Husband is on the left and my giant 13 year old is on the right.

 Views from my glorious balcony.
Wish I was still there.

 More balcony views.

 The pool and water slide/grotto area.  My only complaint was that I wish they had more shade areas for those of us who didn't want to burn to death.

 Why did I think it was a good idea for him to bring his computer? 

 Here we are playing putt putt.  My son has a weird expression on his face because he chews  on the springs attached to his braces.  So it looks like he's chewing on his face or something.

My sweet husband who puts up with me.

It was a good vacation. 

New Pin Cushion

Well, school is out, summer has started.  My son is officially an 8th grader. 
He had a great 7th grade year. 
- he was asked to join the National Junior Honor Society
- he received 2 merit awards, one in math and one in language arts
- he was nominated by his teachers and the middle school staff to be one of 3 middle school students up for a special PTA scholarship.  The winner was randomly drawn and he didn't win but still. 
- he made Principals Honor Roll the first 5 six weeks grading periods and Honor Roll the last six weeks
- his middle school band (where he plays alto sax) won a 1 at band contest at Canton Music Festival and they got a big ol' trophy to boot.
- he stepped outside of his box and played middle school baseball
And there's more but I can't remember it all.  Anyhoo, I'm so proud of him and the young man he is turning into, although it's hard to watch my baby growing up so fast.

Big Sigh.

Okay, now for the crafty stuff. 
Two of my pincushions have eyeballs.  One is a chicken and one is a ladybug. 
I can no longer stand to put pins into them.  I know that probably means I've gone over the edge into crazy land but I wasn't very far off anyway.  I just can't stand to put pins into anything with a face anymore.

So, I pulled out this magazine

and made this pincushion.

What I didn't realize at the time - even while I was sewing it - is how big it was going to be when I was finished.  You can see it takes up almost a whole magazine page.  It's huge.  Plus I made some mistakes on it like when I started marking it with my new disappearing ink marking pin only to realize it was a red Sharpie marker.  Now it has red marker all over it.  Also, it was so big and fat that it was hard to sew the button on the top.  As a result, the bottom of the pincushion looks awful.  So, if you ever come over to my sewing room, don't look at the bottom.  HAHAHA

That's all for now.  I can't type anymore.
Have a great day!

What Have I Been Doing Lately

Well, despite the appearance of my rarely posted on blog, I have been doing stuff.

I've redesigned parts of my apron pattern to make them easier to sew and hopefully, make them "flow" better.  Here is a just listed apron made from the new pattern pieces.

If I hadn't told you something was different, you probably wouldn't have noticed.  It still looks similar to the old pattern but the bib and pockets are slightly bigger.

I've been retaking pics of some of the items in my shop to brighten them up.  I've gotten a lot better at editing my pics but the older pics are definitely darker.  Here is one that I've recently changed.  You can see the details better when the pics are brighter.  I still have a few to go.

I'm also working on a skirt that I've pieced together with fabric strips and I'm working on my first quilt top.  I'm not sure if I'm doing it right but we'll see when it's done.  Hopefully, I"m not screwing it up too bad.  The top of the pic shows the quilt top fabrics and the bottom of the pic is the front of the skirt that I'm piecing.  I'll be sure to keep updating my progress on these.  I think I need to add darts to the skirt (I made a muslin skirt using the pattern to check fit) and I've never done darts before.

So, there you go.  We are getting to the end of the school year and things seem to be getting busier.  Seems like there's something everyday.  Summer will be a nice change of pace.

Pictures of my naked cat

Well, time sure flies.  Sometimes, it flies quicker than other times.

I don't have any great crafting news because I've barely worked on anything lately although, I have been working on some bookmark sets for my shop.  (soon to be listed!)

Anyhoo, about 2 weeks ago, I got my cat shaved.  She has alot of cotton candy hair and it mats up really badly.  She's so mean that she won't let me brush her, so I just take her to the vet and they knock her out and shave her.
Believe it or not, it actually makes her nicer.  She's alot more loving and friendly withought all the hair. 
My son says she looks like a hairless rat.

Also, here is a pick of the Asiatic Lillies that I posted about in the previous post.  This was taken when they were in full bloom.  They were very red but the picture makes them look more orange.  Very pretty.

Stuff we did during Spring Break

Spring Break was the week of March 12-16th.  My son was out of school and my husband took the week off.
We stayed home most of the week and had a staycation.  YAY!  I hate spring break trips.  You're in a hurry to leave and a  hurry to get back.  Everything's rushed.

So here's some stuff we did (not rushed :)

I had my birthday on March 10th.

 We all worked in our backyard garden.  We weeded, planted and mulched.  All of the bushes and small plants on the left side of the flower bed are new.  We planted Nadina, Stella D'Oro day lillies, Red Asiatic lillies and white verbena.
So, now we have plants on the left side and right side but the middle is empty.  It's a work in progress.

 The red Asiatic Lillies.  They look orange in this picture but they are red in person.  Very pretty.

 We went to see a production of Young Frankenstien.

 We cleaned up the front porch and replanted containers that had died.

 Got some new fabric - the picture is horrible though.

More new fabric.  I'm working on some new aprons for my shop.

Also, we went to Dallas for the day and went to the Half Price book store, which is always a treat.  We also went to the Ikea store and ate at California Pizza Kitchen - Yumm!

It was a great spring break.  We spent alot of time together and that's always the best part.

Happy Birthday to Me

This past Saturday, March 10th was my 107th birthday.  At least, that's how old I feel.
My sweet family helped me celebrate.

My giant son (who's playing baseball in middle school!! I'm so proud of him!!)

Here are pics of my loot.

My hubby bought me some tulips - which are 1 of my 2 favorite flowers.  I put them in a low vase that would let them droop.  My hubby hates that.  So he tied them up with some ribbon from my presents.  Now they look like they're in bondage. :)

My cake - from a local bakery Chez Bazan - it's yummy AND pretty.

Who put all those stupid candles on my cake?  I wasn't too happy about those.

Anyhoo, the weather was rainy and stormy all day but  I appreciate my family helping me to celebrate.  We saved my birthday dinner until yesterday when the weather had cleared up.  Now, we're having warm temps with some wind and sunny/overcast skies.  Time for some yard work!

On a crafting level, I've ordered some fun new fabric (my addiction is getting worse) and I've completed 3 more half aprons which I will start listing today.  I'm cutting out 4 more aprons with the fun new fabric and hope to start working on them today.  What are you crafting on today?

Happy March 1st!

Hello all my fellow crafters!  Happy March 1st!

Isn't it wonderful?  Spring is almost here.  Actually, it's suppose to be 81 degrees where I live today, so YAY!  We've had a pretty mild winter but I'm still ready for it to be over.  Here's to hoping that this summer isn't 110 degrees everyday.

Anyhoo, in recent happenings, the team that I belong to, EtsyMoms, has an ongoing contest for treasury makers.  Team members are asked to make as many treasuries (featuring EtsyMoms) that they can in a one month period.  The top winners get to choose a prize given away by sponsoring shops.  I've won the award a couple of times, so I thought it was time that I gave back.

The winner who selected my prize was stayhomecupcake.  Her prize was a coin purse from my shop.  She chose the sleeping owl fabric for her little purse.  It came out super cute.

Check out stayhomecupcake's shop - she makes playfood for little ones as well as other fun goodies.  I love this pincushion:

She received her little purse yesterday and in her own words, "it is so stinkin' cute!".
I'm so glad she liked it. 

I'm trying so hard to catch up on listing things in my shop but sometimes it feels like I'm spinning my wheels.  I seem to be getting "not much" accomplished really fast.  Oh well.  At least it's a beautiful day :)